Man Sells Fake Spot Prints on Ebay, Gets Caught

Richard Silver, 50 years old, bought the trademark dot pattern prints on eBay in 2006. He maintains he didn’t know they were fakes when he subsequently resold them on the same auction website to six people in Britain, Canada and the U.S. for about $84,000.

A law-enforcement official with knowledge of the case said it is unclear if Mr. Silver knew the prints—reproductions of the works “LSD,” “Opium” and “Valium”—were fake. They came with purported certificates of authenticity when he bought them on eBay. Mr. Silver is a licensed real-estate broker who collects art and sells his own original photography as a hobby, his attorney said. […]

On Thursday, Mr. Silver, of Manhattan, turned himself in and pleaded guilty to forgery in the third degree and offering a false instrument in the second degree—both misdemeanors. The charges were part of a plea agreement with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.